Reviews written by Kimberly Pauley

I must have been having a mental breakdown of some kind when I first picked up Miss Smithers, because I didnt realize right away that it was Susan Jubys sequel to Alice, I Think until I was a chapter or so in. I was sitting there thinking, Wow, this reminds...

Im about as far away from the target audience of this book as you can get, seeing as Im a) not gay, b) not a guy, c) not a teenager and d) hopefully no longer completely taken over by teenage angst (well, mostly). That just goes to show how great...

Child abuse, especially the kind that is sexual in nature, is never easy to talk about not for the abused or the adults around the child. Barbara J. Behms simply told Tears of Joy is a good book to use to open the door on this terrible topic. ...

Reading Fade to Black was an interesting experience for me, especially as I used to live either in or around all of the Florida locations described in the book. Most people think of Florida and think of either Cuban-influenced, glitzy Miami or sun-kissed beaches. But theres an entirely different state...

Dream by Susan V. Bosak is a daring picture book featuring the work of 15 famous illustrators, including Leo and Diane Dillon, Shaun Tan, and Robert Ingpen. All of the illustrations are beautiful and amazing unto themselves, but it is Ms. Bosaks words that tie them all together into one...

This is such a refreshing book! While I enjoy a good, gossipy read as much as the next person, sometimes its just really nice to read something, well, nice. The Callahan Cousins: Summer Begins by Elizabeth Doyle Carey is set in todays world (the girls listen to IPods, for instance),...

Weve probably all either heard (or even said) something similar to I have nothing against gay people! Why, some of my best friends are gay, which often works as a way of a) distancing ourselves from people who are different or b) not admitting to ourselves that we havent made...

Once Upon an Evil Time by Dieter Steiner and Diane Marcou is a memoir of another time and another place. As the title says, it was an evil time -- World War II. And this book provides an entirely different view of the war than Anne Frank's Diary or any...

Everything seems to be happening at a younger and younger age today. Girls wearing real makeup at the age I was only playing with the fake stuff&and having their first period, their first boyfriend, their first diet&way before I had any concept of the stuff. Its inevitable, I suppose, but...

April Halprin Wayland perfectly captures the essence of a teenage girl with her poetry. Girl Coming In For a Landing encompasses one year in a girl's life. We never learn her name, but we don't have to know exactly who she is -- in many ways she is "every girl."...

Daniel Ehrenhaft is a guy I'd love to meet. His great sense of humor is evident in all of his novels and especially in Tell It To Naomi. If I didn't think it would possibly insult him, I'd say he really knows how to write...

Sometimes, therapy can get you in trouble. That's what Ruby finds out when she compiles a list (the boyfriend list) for Dr. Z, her shrink. The list includes any kind of anything meaning, even boys she never even talked to or just wished were her boyfriends. But when the...

If you're a regular reader of YM (i.e. Your Magazine), you'll know what the Say Anything column is. Readers write in with their most embarassing, silliest, socially inept stories and YM publishes them for the world to see. Truly, this is a case of getting the world to laugh with...

This book provides a glimpse into a lifestyle that most of us have absolutely no clue about: The Travelers. Bridget is sixteen and conflicted. Sure, any teenager is, but her choices have to do with whether or not she wants to get married, whether she should stay a Traveler (they've...

I actually had my neice read this book before I did. She absolutely adored it. Couldn't get enough of it. Wanted to read every book in the series, as quickly as she could get her hands on them. That pretty much covers it right there. This is...